Lost and Found
by Twelvish
Summary: ON HIATUS: An unwitting muggle finds an old abandoned castle and is thrown back in time... or is this the echo of the past? Maybe it's magic, but why can only Harry and Snape see him?
1. Chapter 1

Title: Lost and Found

By: Twelvish

Disclaimer: No dearies. I do not own the Harry Potter people. Which sucks. J.K. Rowling does. My peasant stature does not compare with her elegant royalty.

A/N This is my first posted fic so go easy on me. Flamers are... not... welcome. Constructive criticism is much better, thank you very much.

Fifty years after Lord Voldemort won the battle between Light and Dark, he was defeated by none other than a muggle. Shotguns will kill even the most immortal of the wizards. Of course, the muggle thought he was killing an albino deer-snake (it's rare so don't ask), so it was purely an accident that the wizard-snake-thing died at all.

Unfortunately, by the time the Dark Lord was killed, there was nothing left of the Order of the Phoenix, Hogwarts, and, in all reality, most of the light side of the Britain Wizarding Community. That included none other than Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter himself. They were all laid to rest in a beautiful secret ceremony in Hogwarts. The only thing marking the final resting place was a single bronze plaque.

Hogwarts eventually fell into disrepair. The ghosts went into a deep slumber deep in the lost chambers and rooms of the school. It became just one of the other castles in Europe, nobody really knowing or caring about the history of the structure. That could be because nobody knew about it in the first place. If they did, they weren't telling. Or, it could be that some magic still existed in the land around the dilapidated building, thus making it a less-than-worthwhile castle to look at. Maybe nobody would have known, if it wasn't for a man in need of a place to sleep.

Michael Laudmund was hiking along an old path when the first rumble of thunder sounded.

'God curse this timing,' he thought. 'I'm not even close to my next shelter. Well, might as well keep on going. Maybe I'll find something to rest in.'

And so he did. He walked and walked, even after he was drenched to the bone and dead tired. Eventually, he made it to a clearing. Startled, he looked up.

'How come I didn't see that castle from the forest? It's on a _cliff_ for God's sake!' Michael decided that it was because he was so tired that he didn't realize the castle was there.

'It's a roof, so it'll do.' He pushed open the grand doors at the entrance, and promptly collapsed on the cold, unforgiving floor.

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Whispers penetrated the normally silent hall.

_Who is that?_

_Not a wizard, surely._

_Muggle?!_

_...Stranger..._

_... Let him stay..._

_Let him sleep._

That seemed to be the final word. The whispers faded into the wind still slithering through the ancient building.

A pair of eyes, though, still watched out for the man currently asleep on the floor. The eyes watched... and waited.

* * *

Quite short, I know, but I'm working on it. If anyone reads this at all, please review. That little button down in the corner there is quite a nice button. 

I'd press it... if I were you. (insert dramatic backround music)


	2. Chapter 2

Lost and Found

Twelvish

Disclaimer: If I owned this, would I be writing on a website? NO!!! I'd be getting paid billions of dollars for this stuff. As it is... I'm getting paid five bucks a week for cleaning bathrooms. Woooo... (twirls finger)

A/N... okay, so no one reviewed. That is OKAY!!! I'm mainly writing this for my own benefit, as it won't leave my head... like that really annoying song... 'this is the song that never ends...' etc etc...

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Michael woke up slowly on a normal day. Today, there was a dull roaring in his ears.

"Ugh, I must have drunk too much at the... party..."

What party? Michael sat straight up in what seemed to be a... school eating-room or something.

Well... that accounts for the roaring.

"Uh," he mumbled. "How'd I get here?" No one ever said Mike was a morning person.

"Mountains... hike... thunderstorm... ohhh CASTLE! This must be one of the few ancient boarding schools. Honestly... why do parents still send their children to schools? Well, no hope for it. I've got to ask the Institutioner(1) for some food and and maybe a snekone(2) so I can let Kai know I'm fine. Man are those uniforms strange..."

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"... And then Snape took off ten points!" exclaimed an indignant 11-year-old Ron Weasley. "Just for looking at him funny!"

"Well, you_ did_ glare at him. If that's not looking at someone funny, then I don't know what is," Ron's best friend Harry Potter pointed out.

"Yeah... but still."

"Hang on. Who's that guy over there?"

"What guy? Neville?"

"No, fungus-head. The man in front of the doors."

"I don't see anyone there. Maybe Snape put poison into your pumpkin juice to make you hallucinate. he's really got it in for you."

"I hadn't noticed," was Harry's sarcastic reply. "Oh look! He's going to the head table. He's ... mumbling to himself."

"I can't SEE him Harry. Can anyone else? Nooo-"

"Snape's looking straight at him."

"He could be glaring at those Hufflepuffs over there. Or he knows you're hallucinating and is trying to creep you out and-"

"Shuttup, Ron. I'm not hallucinating. If me'n Snape are the only ones who can see him, I'd rather get to him before Snape rips his eyes out."

"I still think you're hallucinating."

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Severus Snape was having a pleasant morning. All of his essays had been graded, there were only two classes he had to teach and he'd taken numerous points from all houses (excepting his own, of course).

Yes, a very pleasant morning. His eyes narrowed at the sight of Potter and Weasley, their heads bent together.

What were they plotting? Potter pointed at the doors. In spite of himself, Severus looked...

... and nearly dropped his pumpkin juice.

There was a man there, but he was slowly making his way to the head table.

Severus looked around, but nobody else seemed to have noticed the intruder.

Well, except for Potter, who was trotting after the man. He leaned over and asked Professor Dumbledore whether or not he could see The Man.

"I don't think you've been getting enough sleep, Severus. There is no man. Just Harry."

Severus just grumbled and got up to yell at Potter.

"'Not enough sleep' the old coot says," he muttered. "I think he likes understating things. Does it for a living..."

Michael was stopped in his tracks by a small tung on his sleeve. Turning, he saw a little boy with green eyes looking at him earnestly.

"Excuse me, sir? Who are you and how did you get in here?"

Taken aback, Michael slowly answered, "I walked. May I speak to your Institutioner?"

The boy looked confused, but offered to bring him to the 'headmaster.'

"That won't be necessary, Mr. Potter," said Professor Snape, with an acidic glare pointed at Michael. "I don't now how you got this man here, but let me assure you, once I find out-"

"I walked here out of my own free will, sir. The Potter had nothing to do with it," interrupted Mike.

Severus just sneered. "Well, as only Mr. Potter and I can see you, I can only assume it was Mr. Potter."

"Sir that's not fair! I'm only a first year and I didn't know about this place until three months ago! I couldn't turn ANYONE invisible, let alone make it so only me and you can see them. I don't think even the seventh years could do that kind of magic, and-"

"Magic?! Whaddya mean, 'magic'?!" cried Michael, again interrupting an impending fight.

Snape rounded on Harry. "You brought a MUGGLE here?! You'll be expelled for this one, Potter!"

"I swear I didn't!"

"What's a 'muggle'?"

"Once we reverse this spell, I'm taking this man to the headmaster-"

"Excuse me, I just want to go to my next rest stop-"

"Sir, I swear-"

"Fifty points from Gryffend-"

"Please just a little food for-"

"SILENCE!!" yelled the headmaster. And, indeed, the whole hall got quiet. Mike was quite impressed. How had that old man gotten so loud?

"Severus and Mr. Potter, I would like to see you in my office. Bring along whomever it is you're talking to."

"Yes sir," came the two replies.

"Come on then, Mr... uh... what's your name?" said the boy.

"Michael. What's yours?"

"Harry. He," indicating Severus, "is Professor Snape. You'd better stick close to me, or the professor would probably let you get lost," he whispered.

"Oh, I have an amazing sense of direction. I doubt I'd get lost."

A snort came from Severus's general direction. "Come on then. Hurry up." The trio exited the Great Hall, completely unaware of the scene they caused. What gossip!

They were also quite unaware of the eyes that watched them.

Under all of the noise, a small voice whispered, _I think we got it wrong. _

_He shouldn't be here..._

_No... he needs to be later..._

_Later..._

tbc

(1) In Michael's time, the headmasters are called Institutioners. Not that there are many left, as most kids are home schooled.

(2) Snekones are the newest version of the telephone, can let you see who you're talking to. Pretty much what you'd see in Phil of the Future or something.


	3. Chapter 3

Lost and Found

Twelvish

Disclaimer: If I owned this, would I be writing on a website? NO!!! I'd be getting paid billions of dollars for this stuff. As it is... I'm getting paid five bucks a week for cleaning bathrooms. Woooo... (twirls finger)

A/N Thanks SO much to my awesome reviewers, _ilikestories, Padawan Jan-AQ, _and _babygrey_. You guys helped me get on with the story. Uh… well… on with the show!!!!

There was a time in Michael's life where he had wished for adventure, a place to stand out, to be a hero, like the characters in the stories his mother told him.

That time had passed around the time he'd stepped out of the Great Hall. He spent half of the time befuddled and the other half scared out of his wits.

Take, for example, that wonderful painting on the second floor. He was a little ahead of Snape and Harry, and had seen this gorgeous painting of a blonde-haired man and a snake. The detail was exquisite; the man and the snake were almost alive!

"What are you staring at, boy?!" Mike almost wet himself. That painting didn't just talk… did it?

"What, you've never seen a painting before?" The man peered at him. "You're a little old to be a student, and you're obviously not a squib. You must be-"

"Mr. Michael," interrupted a young voice. "Are you coming?"

Still stunned, Mike could only stutter, "The picture… talking… moving… they can't TALK!"

Snape came up behind them, smiling nastily at Mike's discomfort. "I see you've met Salazar," startling Mike further. Snape smirked. "Vicious, isn't he?" Not leaving any time for Mike to answer, he strode off, his robes billowing impressively behind him. "Come along. We haven't got all day."

So Mike and Harry trailed behind him like dogs, or so Mike thought. Harry just rolled his eyes at the professor's attitude.

"I saw that," called Snape. "Two points from Gryffendor."

Mike vaguely heard Harry whisper, "How does he DO that?" but was too busy trying to keep up with the dark professor.

At last they stopped in the middle of a hallway. The only thing that made this particular hallway stand out was, instead of just the usual paintings (although there were still plenty of those), there was a stone gargoyle in a niche.

"Cockroach Cluster," drawled the professor. "Cockroach Cluster," he said more forcefully.

Mike was quite sure that something was supposed to happen, and he was also quite sure that nothing WAS happening.

Mike heard Snape curse under his breath. From Harry's shocked expression, he did too.

"Potter, start naming sweets. Anything you can think of."

"Why-"

"Never mind. Just do it."

"Alright. Pumpkin Pasties, licorice wands, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Mars Bars-"

"Blood pops, sugar quills, cauldron cakes," Snape joined in.

_Was this some kind of ritual? _Mike wondered. Well, maybe he should… help?

He blurted the first thing that popped into his head, "Lemon Sherbert."

Suddenly the gargoyle lept out of the way and a staircase appeared.

Snape and Harry both stared at him.

"What? It seemed right."

Snape just shook his head and started climbing. Sighing, Mike followed. _It's almost over,_ he told himself. This 'headmaster' person will help him get on his way.

Unfortunately, Michael was mistaken.

"Ah, hello boys," said an old man at the door. "Come in, come in. Sit down. You too, Severus." The headmaster conjured up three squashy red armchairs. "Pepperment snap?"

Snape looked disgruntled, but Mike wasn't sure whether it was due to the fact that the old man called him a boy or because one of the peppermint snaps just bit him.

"Now, to business." He turned to Mike. "My name is Albus Dumbledore, and I am the headmaster at this school." Dumbledore… where had he heard that name before? "I would very much like to know how you got into the castle." The headmaster wasn't looking straight at him, and Mike wondered if he was blind.

"Wait, headmaster. At breakfast you said I wasn't getting enough sleep. That I must be seeing things! You can't see him!"

Professor Dumbledore smiled serenely. "No, but I can hear him."

"Sir, he hasn't said anything. How could you hear him?" asked Harry.

"He's kicking his feet against the chair."

"Oh… okay then."

"Now," the professor turned back to Mike. "I would like to know how a muggle got past the school's wards. How did you get in here?"

_Muggle, non magic folk_. How did he know that?

"Well, I had gotten caught in the storm last night, and the castle looked decent enough for a place to stay."

"What storm?" piped Harry.

"Hush, Mr. Potter, or I'll take more points."

_Potter… maybe that's his surname. Maybe he's not actually a _potter_ but Potter. Harry Potter… Harry Potter…._

"It was a huge storm. Maybe you just didn't hear it, Harry, because you were in bed," suggested Mike.

"I have it on very good authority that it was crystal clear last night," Professor Dumbledore stated. "And, Harry, I'm sure, would not have known anyway. As he was _asleep_. Not in a certain trophy room."

Harry just blushed and looked away.

_Harry Potter, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape… I've HEARD those names before…_

Mike got more and more agitated, trying to figure out where he had heard those names before. A small tinkling of broken china brought him back to the real world.

Albus Dumbledore was wearing an expression that only a few lucky people have ever seen in their entire lives.

Total shock.

"My dear Severus. I apologize for this morning, and you too, Mr. Potter. This man-"

"His name's Michael, sir," Harry said.

"Yes, thank you. Michael. I can see him. It's astounding! His _aura_ is…" he trailed off, still staring in wonder at Mike.

"Sir?" asked a slightly hesitant Snape.

The professor just waved his hand dismissively. "It's alright, Severus. This man is-"

_**CRACK**_

The next thing anyone knew, they were on the floor, and the Mike was gone.

Thoroughly shaken up, the three walked out of the office and decided not to say anything more about Michael, but not before Dumbledore made a rather cryptic comment.

"He hasn't left Hogwarts. He's only left the world."

In the office, the voices were silently hoping the got it right.

And still, the eyes watched everyone and everything, never wavering from their task.


End file.
